- Published on
Humanoid robots work as baggage engagement at Tokyo Airport
- Authors
- Name
- aimode.news
- @aimode_news
Humanoid robots will work as baggage handlers at Tokyo airport
Have you ever felt like you were experiencing the first chapters of a dystopian science fiction story? As if AI, mass surveillance and increasing concentration of wealth weren't enough, we now have to deal with damn robots. And these things always start out seeming harmless, right? It is in this context that Japan Airlines (JAL) decided to deploy androids to help its human baggage handlers.
The humanoid robots will be part of a test that begins in May (via The Guardian), moving baggage and cargo at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. At a JAL press event this week, a droid was seen gently pushing cargo on a conveyor belt and waving to a human colleague. At another point, he shook hands with another human colleague, which illustrated his height: He's only 4 feet 3 inches tall. (Danny DeVito has seven thumbs on this iron man!) Androids can run for two to three hours per charge.
The trial will take place in several phases, so the androids will not be working live right away. First, JAL will map and analyze airport conditions to identify places where they can safely work alongside people. Next, the robots will undergo testing in simulated airport environments before joining human workers on the tarmac. If all goes as planned, they could eventually be used for other tasks, including cleaning airplane cabins.
Automation usually involves the elimination of jobs. But what happens when a country faces a labor shortage? Japan's unique conditions make it a fascinating testing ground, with a rapidly aging population and low birth rate leading to a shrinking workforce. And with political pressure to curb immigration (sound familiar?), the circumstances are practically ideal for companies to streamline shipping in androids. Ho, my boy.
Regardless of the outcome of this (apparently harmless) trial, Silicon Valley is considering human-like robots as one of its next big projects. Androids in the workforce are a Pandora's box that we will be forced to reckon with in the years to come. Let's just hope our timeline turns out to be better than the versions our sci-fi prophets have repeatedly warned us against.
